MP, Labour’s Shadow
Chancellor, speaking ahead of the Budget,
said:
“With all attention focused on dealing with the
coronavirus, we will work constructively with the Government to
ensure this outbreak is properly managed and defeated.
“What is becoming clear, regrettably, is that the economy
and our public services are in a vulnerable position to deal with
a shock like this, because of the cuts, weak growth, and
widespread insecure work produced by the last ten years.
“We need urgent investment to deal with the three crises on
our hands – coronavirus, the climate emergency, and the crisis in
our public services – and our concern is that the public will
naturally be disappointed as the Budget fails to address these
issues effectively.”
Ends
Notes to Editors
- Today
Labour is releasing a series of reports on the vulnerability of
public services and wider economy in the lead-up to the Budget.
This includes reports on housing, justice, local government, the
environment, and education, available online here: https://labour.org.uk/the-path-to-the-budget-reports-from-the-shadow-treasury-team/.
Further reports will be published shortly on health and social
security, with updates taking into account developments in recent
days.
-
This crisis in public services has arisen against the backdrop of
fundamental weaknesses in the economy over the past
decade:
Average 0.3% productivity growth over the last decade
(https://www.ft.com/content/8d7ef9b2-24b4-11ea-9a4f-963f0ec7e134)
- Business
investment flat in the last quarter (https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/bulletins/businessinvestment/julytoseptember2019revisedresults),
with the British Chambers of Commerce saying “indicators in the
manufacturing sector remain very weak by historic standards”,
alongside “a faltering service sector” (https://www.businessinsider.com/the-uk-economy-limped-into-decade-brexit-uncertainty-approaches-2020-1?r=US&IR=T)
- Bank
of England chief economist Andy Haldane last year describing poor
growth in real wages in the last ten years as a “pay disaster”
(https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/-/media/boe/files/speech/2019/climbing-the-jobs-ladder-speech-by-andy-haldane.pdf?la=en&hash=427F17CEDFEC6AE82075792F82238C96006F65BC)
- Record
numbers of people on zero-hours contracts, with almost a million
on these contracts in the ONS’s latest figures (https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/employmentintheuk/february2020)
-
Incomes falling for the worst-off on the latest figures (https://www.ft.com/content/06c0933c-5ed8-11ea-b0ab-339c2307bcd4)
